Tommaso Ciampa stands quietly outside of the performance center, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels as he watches Florida life move around him. It's slow, a lazy sort of evening, the perfect backdrop to keep him entertained while he waits.
Before too long, he hears her coming and stands a little bit straighter, taking his hands out of his pockets and pressing his fingers together while he turns to watch Dakota Kai coming through the doors. "Oh, hey, Tommaso, what's kicking?" she chirps, spinning her keys around on her finger as she joins him.
His lips twitch into some farce of a smile, and he shrugs. "Oh y'know. Actually, uh, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he says before she can continue on her way.
"Oh, sure," she says, hopping on one foot to stop her own forward momentum. "What's up?"
He clears his throat and looks away. "Well, y'know. UH, I've been doing Raw and Smackdown shows here and there and I guess Pearce and Sonya have some interest, so I'm moving on to the Raw roster." It feels weird to say. NXT had been so, so vital to his career, his lifeblood outside of his own family, and he's not sure how things are going to feel, leaving it behind in the hands on Bron Breakker and the rest.
"Oh," she says softly, searching his face. "Are you ok with that?"
"I'm not sure," he says honestly. "I knew this chapter of my career was gonna end after Stand & Deliver. It's just...a lot. But I want the chance, you know. I've always... kind of... imagined what I'd like to do on the main roster, if I ever felt comfortable enough to leave NXT, and, well, here we are." They stand in silence, the last of a dying breed in NXT, before he gives himself a rough shake and turns back to her with a rueful smile. "Anyway, uh, I wanted to talk to you because I've discussed it with Luke since all of this went down and we agree that it's not enough for team NXT to just be you and Barrett, so I've provided him a list of NXT Superstars that I think will be good teammates. Not sure where he'll go with it, but expect new blood soon, alright?"
Her eyes brighten. "Oh thank god, I couldn't imagine some of the things that go on in the Digiworld only being handled by two people."
Ciampa chuckles a little. "Yeah, me neither. I guess Luke has been thinking along the same lines after everything with Ancient Wisemon. He says Smackdown may be getting some new faces as well. I guess Shinsuke has gone to Luke to discuss this as well, since it's just him and Xavier over there."
"Well, they definitely need it," she says, nudging him playfully. "Everyone seems to end up on Team Raw. What do they have, 20 people by now?"
"Ehhh," Ciampa says, squinting as he thinks about that. "I think it's twelve?"
"Like I said," Dakota grins. "Anyway." She sighs and shuffles closer to him. "I wish you all the best on Raw, and who knows , maybe some day I'll end up joining you over there."
"Thanks," he says, voice drifting away as she throws her arms around him in a long, enthusiastic hug. "I'll see you around, alright? Take care of yourself."
"You too," she mumbles into his shoulder, giving him a couple of extra squeezes before letting him go. "See ya around, Daddy Ciampa."
His lips quirk up into that weak facsimile of a smile again before he snags his duffel off of the ground and leaves.
Dakota exhales and rubs her arms briskly before looking back at the Performance Center. "And then there was one," she says softly before taking her leave as well.
